"We have both the right and responsibility to express our concerns about piracy undermining our industry on a global level," Hollywood's top lobbyist tells theater owners.

LAS VEGAS -- MPAA chairman and CEO Chris Dodd said Tuesday that combating movie piracy will remain a top priority for as long as he remains Hollywood's chief lobbyist.

"We have both the right and the responsibility to express our concerns about piracy undermining our industry on a global level," Dodd said during his fourth annual state of the industry speech at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, where theater owners gather every year.

Hollywood studios have been at odds with Silicon Valley companies over piracy and the role search engines play. Dodd has often found himself at the center of the battle.

Dodd stressed he is "a member of that overwhelming majority that believe the Internet and emerging technologies have been a benefit."

"Technology is our friend and not our foe. The most frequent moviegoers tend to own more technology devices then the population at large," he said. "Our challenge is to make technology serve us rather than disrupt us."

He added that studios are themselves "technology companies that make content."